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ACADEMY UPDATE: Red Bulls U-18 and U-16 kickoff Spring season

New York Red Bulls academy soccer is back. Last weekend, the U-18 and U-16 teams opened the Spring portion of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) season on the road with two game each in Virginia against D.C. United and Richmond United.

D.C. United U-18 (2) vs. New York Red Bulls U-18 (0)

Leesburg, Va. (March 5, 2016) – The New York Red Bulls U-18 fell to D.C. United, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon in the USSDA Spring season opener.

The game took a number of different turns after 30 minutes when D.C. were reduced to ten players for straight red card. After the sending off, the Red Bulls controlled possession and created a number of openings. All three forward players; Brian Saramago, Omir Fernandez and Samad Bounthong, went close to opening the scoring in the first half, only to be denied by a number of good saves from the United goalkeeper.

New York dominated possession again in the second half, albeit without troubling the home keeper in the early stages. It was United that opened the scoring against the run of play after some good individual play from a throw in – beating two Red Bulls defenders before crossing the ball in for D.C. to break the deadlock.

The complexion of the match turned again in the 78th minute, when Kyle Perno was shown his second yellow card and the Red Bulls were reduced to 10-players. D.C. scored from the resulting free kick to double their lead, 2-0. Both teams had chances as the game opened up, but the Red Bulls could not find the back of the net and dropped the Spring opener.

The Red Bulls had a quick turnaround as they headed south to play the next day at Richmond United in the opening weekend USSDA double-header.

Glen Allen, Va. (March 6, 2016) – The New York Red Bulls U-18 tied Richmond United in their second game of the weekend, 1-1.

The Red Bulls took the lead two minutes after halftime when a clever through ball from Matt Thorshiem put Zach Ryan through on goal to score. Ryan, who was playing up with the U18s, showed composure in his finish to give New York the advantage.

The Red Bulls created a number of chances and were punished for not finding a second goal. In stoppage time, Richmond grabbed a dramatic last minute equalizer on the final play of the game.

The Red Bulls U-18 look to bounce back and take all three points in their next match at home on Saturday, March 12, against Bethesda-Olney.

Leesburg, Va. (March 5, 2016) – The New York Red Bulls U-16 traveled south for the start of the USSDA Spring season. The Red Bulls faced their MLS rival, D.C. United, on Saturday and came away with a convincing win, 4-1.

With forwards Zach Ryan and Omir Fernandez moved up to the U-18 team for the weekend, Ben Mines was moved up to forward from his central midfield position. Mines responded to the move with three goals and one assist as he tormented the D.C. defenders throughout the match.

After a scoreless first half that saw the Red Bulls miss some scoring opportunities, Mines broke through the D.C. defense and gave the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead. Mines added two more goals before United pulled one back to make it 3-1, but Mines would seal it with another run behind the defense. His cross found Aziel Jackson, who controlled the pass off his chest and volleyed it home for the goal. Jackson’s goal came in his first game playing up from the Red Bulls U-14s.

Scoring Summary:

NY: Ben Mines 45’

NY: Ben Mines 52’

NY: Ben Mines 64’

D.C. United 68’

NY: Aziel Jackson 77’

Richmond United U-16 (0) vs. New York Red Bulls U-16 (4)

Glen Allen, Va. (March 6, 2016) – The New York Red Bulls U-16 followed the opening victory with a trip down to Richmond on Sunday. New York dominated the game from the opening whistle, and created many scoring chances in the first half.

Bratislav Petkovik put the Red Bulls on the scoreboard off a corner kick from Ben Mines, 1-0. Then Chris Bermudez scored unassisted in the 25th minute as New York doubled their lead heading into halftime. Petkovik tallied his second goal of the match off a feed from Jack Valderabanno in the 55th minute and Vince Borden capped off the scoring via a feed from Mines.

The Red Bulls U-16s are back in action on Saturday, March 12, at home against Bethesda-Olney.